Buttons and Grace (Buttons 6)

“You’re sure?”

My brother sacrificed his business, the one thing that connected us to our father, so I could get out of there alive. Our relationship had always been about sacrifice, doing what we didn’t want to do for each other. That was how family worked. I enjoyed running the business as my own, having my own space, but being partners with my brother wasn’t the worst thing in the world. With the weapons business, we always got along…until he’d traded Adelina for weapons without my permission. “I’m sure. Just don’t trade shipments of wine for women.”

He rolled his eyes. “There’s only one woman I would do that for, and I already have her.”

“Then we won’t have any problems.” I extended my hand.

He took it. “Partners again…”

“And wine doesn’t taste like piss.”

“Your wine does.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Kidding. I’ll get used to it. I’ll ask Pearl to give me a special wine tasting. I’ll just drink some scotch in between.”

“Wine tastes better when it’s paired with food. I’ll show you what I mean.”

“Alright.” He sat back in the chair and rested his arms on the armrests. “How long are you going to be like this?”

“A few weeks…at the minimum.”

“That sucks.”

“I hate it. And Pearl doesn’t want me to lift a finger.”

“That’s not so bad. Is there anything I can do? Pearl might be able to give me a rundown on the winery, and I can go take care of a few things.”

“No, it’s okay. I can work from home…once she lets me.”

“Alright. I’m here if you change your mind.”

“I know.”

He continued to sit there even though the conversation seemed to be over. “Got any names picked out?”

“Excuse me?”

“For the kid.”

It hadn’t crossed my mind. “No. We’ve got nine months to figure it out.”

“I can’t believe I’m gonna be an uncle. Never thought that would happen after Vanessa died.”

“You think I’ll be an uncle someday?” I asked.

Cane’s expression hardened again. “Unlikely. Adelina is the only woman I’ve ever cared about, and she doesn’t feel the same way. So…I doubt she wants to have my kid.”

“So you want to have kids?”

He shrugged. “Before her, not really. With her…doesn’t sound so bad.”

I couldn’t believe my brother and I were engaging in a conversation about kids. We went from being the biggest arms dealers in the country to being two men who talked about their women. When did so much change?

“Is Pearl giving you lots of blow jobs?”

I narrowed my eyes on his face, threatening him with a single look. I didn’t talk about my wife in that context with anyone—especially not my brother. He’d wanted to fuck her once upon a time.

He chuckled and rose to his feet. “I’ll let myself out.”

Chapter 12

Adelina

Cane drove us back to his house a few miles away. He lived fairly close to his brother, no longer than a fifteen-minute drive. Their proximity was obviously not a coincidence. The men talked shit to each other constantly, but underneath those words were their true feelings. They didn’t like being farther apart than necessary, just far enough to have some privacy.

I was glad Cane returned whole, not scarred and injured the way Crow was. But our relationship hadn’t been the same since that dinner we had. He was distant with me. He paid attention to me, kissed me when he wanted, and his eyes were on me most of the time. But now his thoughts were unknown.

We didn’t talk the way we used to.

He brushed off my silence and said it was okay that I didn’t feel the same way.

But I think I hurt him.

I’d never expected him to say those words to me. Cane didn’t seem like the kind of man capable of emotions like that. While he was good, sweet, and wonderful, he said he’d never had a serious woman in his life. All he cared about was money, power, and sex. We were close and shared experiences no one else could possibly understand, but I thought that was the extent of it.

Besides, he was a criminal.

He did business with bad men and lived outside the law. I thought that he possessed a small ounce of compassion for me because he knew I deserved better, that he saved me because he’d become a better man.

I didn’t know it was because he loved me.

We returned to the house and walked inside. Cane opened the fridge, grabbed a few things, and set them on the counter.

“Can I help?” It was the first time we’d spoken to each other in several hours.

He grabbed the cutting board and placed the carrots on top. “Sure. Wash and slice these.”

“Okay.” I ran them under warm water while Cane prepared the beef and onions. He was making beef stew inside one of the big silver pots on his stove.

“I’m hiring a butler this week. I offered Lars a ton of money, but he turned me down.”